Fred Armisen Talks Stepping Down as ‘SNL’s’ Obama

He may no longer be the “president,” but comedian Fred Armisen is proud to go down in history.

The star of “Saturday Night Live” and IFC’s “Portlandia” met with critics on Friday, where he discussed his long-running impersonation of President Barack Obama on the NBC show. After years of playing the Commander-in-Chief, Armisen was replaced by Jay Pharoah during the presidential campaign. In fact, he introduced him on “SNL.”

“It feels incredible, it makes me feel like I am part of something bigger,” Armisen told Deadline. “It’s like SNL is its own living thing and we are just a part of that. Now we’ve both helped to paint this picture of the president. We’ve made some kind of art together.”

Armisen affirmed that he will “never” again portray Obama on the show, but watching Pharoah “makes me feel very proud.”